Three Small Words
by imma vampire
Summary: One day Claire finds herself alone with Shane in the house and the urge to tell him how she really feels about him is overwhelming. Will she tell him? If she does, what will his reaction be? Takes place sometime after Claire & Shane start dating. One shot


**So I have decided to try to write another fandom... that's what they are called right? well anyway, here is my little one shot about Claire and Shane. I absolutley love this series and Lord of Misrule came out yesterday (bought it, haven't had time to read it yet... :[) anyway, so... this is something new. enjoy, please tell me how you like it.**

**disclaimer on profile.**

Claire sat at the breakfast table and sighed heavily. She was frustrated, for the most part. Frustrated with school and all the attention it demanded, frustrated with her parents and their lack of trust in her, but mostly she was frustrated with Shane and herself. Shane for not coming out and talking about his feelings, not expressing them to her, though she knew she shouldn't expect him to. It was Shane after all. She was also, and probably mostly, frustrated with herself. She was angry that she was too chicken to tell Shane how she really felt about him to his face. Sure, she had said it a few times, but he had either been asleep or not near her when she had uttered the three little words.

Claire pushed away her bowl of cereal, suddenly feeling nauseous. She wanted everything between them to be perfect, but perfect in Morganville was just not something that was going to happen. She'd be eaten by a vampire or killed by school bullies before Shane confessed his love for her. "Great, I'll be dead before he can realize it." She snorted to herself.

"Why are you dying?" Claire shot up at lightning speed and turned to see Shane walk into the kitchen. He was up early for him and looked sinfully delicious in an old faded Pepsi shirt and some stone washed jeans. His hair was a mess just how she liked it and his eyes were still tired and unfocused.

Claire turned her head, a furious blush running to her cheeks as Shane sat across from her at the table. He grabbed her untouched bowl of dry cereal and poured some milk into it before digging in.

"Chem II test today." Claire said numbly. She was hoping the blush would fade soon, but if Shane noticed it, he didn't say anything.

"Right, and who is not going to realize what you want them to?" Claire looked up at him and blinked. He was studying the cereal box while chewing, and would occasionally look up at her. She shook her head, searching for an answer.

"My lab partner. He's been sick and doesn't know about the test." It was a poor excuse, but Shane wasn't paying too much attention so it worked in Claire's favor.

"Oh, right." He said between bites. Claire bit back a groan.

The door swung open and Eve danced in adorned in her usual attire. Lace, skulls, fishnets and ribbon, all a perfect shade of black.

"Good morning Claire Bear." She said grinning. Claire nodded.

"Morning." Eve stopped at the stressed tone of Claire's voice and frowned. Claire sighed. She wasn't a skilled liar and Eve knew her best out of everyone in Morganville. This morning, she knew something was wrong with Claire. She opened her mouth to ask, but Claire shook her head, glancing at Shane. Eve followed her gaze before her eyes lit up in understanding. The best thing about Eve was, she was loud when you needed her to be, and knew to keep her mouth shut when the time called for it, usually.

Eve smiled at Claire, reassuringly, before prancing to the coffee maker and pouring herself a cup. "So what's on the agenda for today?" Claire glanced at Shane who looked up.

"I'm just hanging out." Shane said shrugging. Eve nodded and turned to Claire.

"School." Claire said dejectedly. It was a rare day she didn't want to go to classes. Instead she felt like crawling upstairs and snuggling deep into her comforter, not coming out until all vampires and humans alike gave up trying to kill her. Eve nodded.

"Well would you like a ride?" Claire nodded.

"Sure, thanks." Eve nodded and Claire stood. "I'll see you later Shane." He looked up at her, his bowl nearly empty now.

"You're leaving?" Claire nodded.

"I have classes." Shane shook his head.

"Man this is early. I'd be falling asleep in the lectures." Claire rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you would be." Shane grinned and pulled her into a hug. Since he was sitting, they were very nearly the same height. He smiled.

"Have a good day. Be safe." Claire nodded and kissed him gently.

"I will. You too." He nodded and turned back to his cereal bowl, releasing his hold around her waist. She bit back a sigh and followed Eve out the door.

As soon as they were in the car, the interrogation started. "What's wrong? What did he do this time? Does he even realize you're mad at him? Wait, you are mad at him right?" Claire chuckled at the string of questions.

"Nothing's wrong per say, but nothing is right either. He didn't do anything different than normal. I don't think he noticed my mood this morning and no, I'm not mad at him." Claire said, answering all of Eve's questions. Eve frowned.

"Care to elaborate on it?" Claire felt a blush creep up her cheeks again and she turned her gaze outside. Eve glanced at her then looked back in shock, her mouth hanging open. "You are in love with him!" she screamed. Claire flinched from the shear pitch her voice had taken on.

"Eve do you have to scream?" of course, Claire's lack of deny was proof enough for Eve and she stared at her in shock. There was a honk, pulling them both back onto the road. Eve pressed the gas and started across the street as she tried to think of something to say. The silence grew heavy as they made their way to the campus. When they pulled up, Eve looked over at Claire.

"Will you tell him?" Claire stared at Eve incredulously.

"Will I tell Shane, Mr. Don't-talk-about-emotions-if-your-life-depended-on-it? I don't think I can." Eve frowned.

"Look I know he can be an ass sometimes, but he really does care about you." Claire played with the sleeves of her shirt, keeping her eyes averted from Eve's face.

"I know he does. But is it enough?" Eve patted Claire's knee gently.

"I think you'll know it's enough. Shane isn't that familiar with relationships. He doesn't know that well how they work. Give him time." I nodded. "Hell, the only time he's stayed in a relationship was when the sex was really good, but I'm pretty sure you haven't done that," Claire blushed and shook her he.

"Or he was bored. He's not in this relationship for either reasons. He's in it because you're too good to let go of." Claire smiled up at Eve.

"Thanks Eve." Eve nodded.

"Of course Claire. That's what I'm here for. Now go to class before you're late." Claire smiled slid out of the car. She headed to class with a little less stress on her mind. Eve was right, Shane just needed time.

Claire's day passed slowly, much to her dismay. She wanted to be home and watch Shane and Eve bicker as they usually did, while Michael sat in his chair, watching amused and jumping into Eve's rescue when Shane was winning. She wanted the boys to pull out the beer and start playing video games, ignoring her and Eve. She wanted a normal, happy day at the Glass house.

Classes finally ended and Claire was more than happy to go home. She took the walk home to try to clear her head. She knew Eve was right, but it didn't mean she liked what Eve said.

Claire made it home with no incidents, for that she was thankful. A walk home from school in Morganville could prove deadly. When Claire stepped inside, she saw Shane at the TV playing video games. He had probably been doing that all day. He didn't pause the game, but glanced at Claire and smiled.

"Hey kid, how was school?" It grated on her nerves that he still called her kid. Didn't he see her as anything else? Or was she merely some fun for now. The extra danger of jailbait was just enough temptation to interest Shane. She ignored the question and threw her bag down by the couch before walking into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water and unscrewed the lid, chugging down half of it in one gulp. She sighed and walked back out into the living room. She plopped next to Shane on the couch and watched as he shot at aliens on the TV. "Bad day?" she shrugged, sipping her water. "How was your Chem II test?" Claire's head snapped toward Shane in shock. How had he remembered that? She had been sure he wasn't paying attention this morning. Shane glanced at her and rolled his eyes. "Yes Claire, I have been known to pay attention every once in a while." He said chuckling. Claire nodded, shocked.

"It was fine." She mumbled, laying her head back against the back of the couch. Shane laughed and sipped his coke before turning back to his game. Claire's eyes drifted shut in exhaustion. She laid still, listening to Shane shoot at the Aliens and cuss when he got hit.

After a moment his voice filler her ears. "Claire?" she looked up at him and blinked in surprise when she saw he was closer than she had thought. "Claire what's wrong?" he asked, pausing the game and looking at her. Claire sighed shrugging.

"It's nothing Shane." Claire was surprised when he got up and turned off his game before turning to her. She hadn't expected that.

"Claire, talk to me. I noticed this morning something was off this morning. What's up with you?" Claire bit her lip. She wanted so bad to just spit out everything she had bottled up. She wanted to scream and cry, she wanted to hug and kiss him, but mostly, she wanted to tell him how she felt and she wanted him to say it back to her.

Claire knew that they still had another few hours before Michael would wake up and Eve would get home. It was now or never.

Claire opened her mouth and it all started rushing out. "I guess I'm frustrated." She started. "I want all these things that are just out of my reach and I'm not brave enough to jump because I'm afraid of falling." She said vaguely. Shane nodded with a small frown and she bit her lip.

"Care to elaborate?" that was all the invitation Claire needed.

"I'm scared because it feels like I'm falling so hard and so fast for you and our relationship isn't something you consider serious. I know you aren't an emotions guy, and that makes it really hard to understand what you are feeling and it frustrates me because I just want to tell you how much I like you, how much I love you, but I'm afraid that'll make you run and yell at me because I'm underage and," Claire felt Shane's large hand rest on her knee and she looked up at him. His look silenced all words in her throat.

"You love me?" he asked softly. Claire nodded slowly. She watched as his eyes processed her words, then he smiled slowly. "You know what?" Claire shook her head, unable to talk. "I think that's pretty cool. You've got a lot more guts than I do kid." Claire flinched. "What?" she sighed.

"I'm not a kid. Okay I'm technically 16, almost 17, but I'm not a kid." He studied her face and she suddenly felt very, very exposed under his examining gaze.

"No, I suppose you're not." She watched his eyes as they burned with a new emotion. One she had seen when they made out and lost control of their sense. The burn of lust and passion. "Besides, it'd be weird if I fell in love with a kid, wouldn't it?" Claire's heart fluttered wildly at his words.

"You love me?" she asked, repeating his previous question. He nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, you're something special Claire. I'm not sure how I got so lucky to have you in my life, but I'm not complaining." Claire grinned, her soul feeling light. She launched herself at Shane, attacking his mouth with her own. His large arms automatically wrapped around her waist, holding her to his chest. After an immeasurable moment, they pulled apart, gasping for air. "That doesn't make you any less jail bait though." Claire blushed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I can't wait until I turn 18." She muttered. Shane laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"You and me both." Claire smiled and rested against his chest, listening to his steady heart beat as she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

"Claire? Claire?" Claire blinked her eyes open and looked up. She was on the side of the couch, curled up away from Shane who was sipping his coke and still playing video games. It had all been a dream. Of course. It was too good to be true. Claire could have cried at the realization that it hadn't been real. She hadn't told him how she felt and he hadn't admitted it to her either. "Claire you okay?" Shane asked glancing at her. She looked up at him.

"Yes, why?" Shane shrugged.

"You were mumbling in your sleep." He said, his eyes glued to the TV. Claire blushed. She rarely talked in her sleep. Only when she was really stressed.

"Mumbling or talking?" she asked, horrified to think of him hearing her dream.

"Mumbling. I couldn't make any sense of it." He said shifting on the couch with the game controller to kill an alien. Claire sighed in relief.

"Oh, sorry." Shane shrugged.

"So was it a good dream?" Shane asked, not looking at her. Claire smiled to herself.

"Yeah, it was a really good dream. I learned a lot." She said honestly. Shane paused the game and looked at her incredulously.

"You learn even in your dreams?" Claire grinned.

"Apparently so." Shane rolled his eyes and un-paused his game.

"Fine, Little Miss Einstein. What did you learn?" Claire smiled as she spoke.

"Three little words." She paused and studied Shane's profile. He bit his lip in concentration as he maneuvered around the screen.

"And that would be?" he asked, hardly paying attention anymore. Claire nodded knowing now that Shane would be ready when it was the right time. And when it was the right time, everything would fall into place. She could wait for it as long as it promised to be perfect. She smiled as she answered Shane, knowing that her answer would make little sense to him.

"Eve was right."

**Did you like it? Sorry if it didn't make much sense. It's like two am and I'm writing this. I'll probably go back and fix it up when I'm more coherent. anyway, leave me love please. :D**


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